Tuesday, April 30, 1996
Council deemed to have incorrectly followed proceduresBy Brooke
Olson
Daily Bruin Staff
Judicial Board Justice Noah Hochman sighed and paused a moment
before speaking.
"These last two quarters have been really tiring," he said. "But
I guess this is what politics is all about."
Since fall quarter, the undergraduate council has investigated,
attempted and successfully impeached Hochman from the Judicial
Board for violating bylaws by discussing an election case outside
of official meetings.
But last Tuesday, in another dramatic turn of events, the
Judicial Board overturned the council’s ruling and reinstated
Hochman on the board.
In a 3-1-0 vote, the Board determined that the council met
improperly on April 16 and incorrectly followed the procedures to
impeach Hochman.
According to undergraduate bylaws, "a motion can only be
reconsidered by one who voted on the prevailing," and must be filed
by the next day.
Frank Sampson, the council’s Cultural Affairs Commissioner, had
asked the student government to reconsider Hochman’s impeachment 10
weeks after the council fell one vote short of impeaching the
Justice.
The Judicial Board determined that this delay and motion to
reconsider was a clear violation of the bylaws, said Chief Justice
Eric Mah.
Some students were supportive of the decision and said the
Judicial Board’s ruling demonstrated the council’s disregard for
the bylaws.
"Either this council is inept or has blatantly disregarded their
procedures in order to prosecute people who they perceive do not
support their ideology," said Rob Greenhalgh, the president of last
year’s council.
"If the council attempts to overturn this ruling, it could
completely unravel any integrity the student government still has,"
Greenhalgh added.
Although council members said there will be no attempt to
overturn the latest Judicial Board decision, they steadfastedly
maintained that Hochman is biased and should not be on the
board.
"(The council) is disappointed that the Judicial Board
reinstated a corrupt justice through legal trickery," said York
Chang, this year’s council president. "We’ll just have to wait and
see if this Judicial Board will abuse its powers to get the Greeks
elected this year."
But Hochman contended that he is completely impartial and does
not favor any particular slate.
"I have fought this entire investigation and impeachment to the
very end because I believe in myself and my integrity," he said. "I
wouldn’t have put myself in a position to ruin my reputation if I
felt that I didn’t have some reason to defend myself."
Chief Justice Mah was incensed that Chang would pinpoint any
Judicial Board member as biased.
"It seems like a desperate and empty accusation to call the
Judicial Board biased after the Board found the Council’s actions
to be improper," Mah said.
"I would like to believe that all the members of the Board are
unbiased. It is a sad state of affairs when the Council accuses
their judiciary of partiality and bias only when the Council does
not get their way," he added.
But some Judicial Board members did not agree with their Chief
Justice and said they are again taking measures to remove Hochman
from the board.
"I voted to overturn the (council’s) decision but it was based
on a technicality," said Judicial Board Justice Jihad Saleh.
"But, although I agreed that the council violated the bylaws, I
did not believe they wrongly impeached Noah Hochman. Some Judicial
Board members are asking (Hochman), for the best of the
organization, to step down from the board," Saleh added.
Despite dissent from both the Judicial Board and the council,
Hochman insisted that he will not quit.
"I became a victim of politics at this school and it is my
belief that I didn’t do anything wrong," Hochman said. "I have and
will fight this thing to the very end."
The council began investigating Hochman in September, after
charges were brought against him for discussing an election case
last spring with Greenhalgh.
This dispute over the Judicial Board justice stems from last
spring’s controversy.
During the undergraduate elections, the Bruin Democrats placed a
full-page ad in the Daily Bruin announcing the group’s endorsement
of several candidates.
Marwa Kilani, an undergraduate general representative, filed a
complaint with the Elections Board, alleging that the ad was an
illegal endorsement. The Elections Board, however, determined there
was no violation.
Then former council member Matt Weathers filed a petition with
the Judicial Board, requesting a review of the Elections Board’s
ruling. The Judicial Board ruled that the ad indeed was an illegal
endorsement and quickly overturned several election results.
Several days later, the Judicial Board reopened the case,
overturned its decision and gave the Elections Board the power to
resolve the situation.
The Elections Board unanimously voted to keep the original
election results.
Despite dissent over the ruling, almost all sides hoped the
reinstatement of Hochman will be the conclusion of the year-long
Judicial Board affair.
"I’d like to think that this is the end of it all," Hochman
said. "Perhaps we’ll all be able to lead a normal life now."